My Father is almost 86 and going through some health problems. Yesterday he took me to his gun safe as he wanted to show me some rifles.  He had 2 in particular, both older. He doesn't remember much about either of them, except he got them in trade a long time ago.  The other had a 6X OIGEE German scope, which I liked, but that will be another post. The rifle in this post is a very old Mauser, I believe. He wanted me to see if I could figure out the value of this rifle for him. He said a dealer came and offered him $600 about 20 or 30 years ago.

Through some research I think this first rifle is the one in this advertisement. It appears to fit the description perfectly, including the plain walnut stock, the upgraded Lyman rear sights, and the Sheard "gold" front sights. It still has the original rear 2 leaf 200/300 rear sight as well. I believe the butt pad was a later addition as well as the checkered carvings on the stock.  It also is marked, "FROM W.F. SHEARD, TACOMA, WASH." It appears to be very solid and in great condition, albeit needs some cleaning as I just wiped a layer of dust off before taking the pictures. The modifications were obviously done by people who loved this rifle. There are also some "X's" filed on the trigger. Tallies? Grips? I'm not sure. The serial number is 231 and is on many of the small parts also.  Any info on this is greatly appreciated.

Or....atleast the rear sight on your dad's old rifle.

Your post made me finger some of Dads old firearms.
Thanks.

I was in the middle of posting this and Photobucket went into maintenance mode.  I will post all of the other pics of the rifle when it comes back online.

I despise photobucket

IBT "OMGWTFBBQ who bubba'd that poor old Mauser!  Maybe you can restore it to pristine condition!"

Fuck them - that's a nice looking rifle, and someone cared for it and used it.

A few more pics because of the 2000 character limit. ANY info, i.e., model number, year manufactured, value, etc., is greatly appreciated.

I think the Circle B is a Brazilian contract mark - maybe a Model 1908?

Thank you. I thought they were all made in Germany.

So, you think someone converted this into a "sporter" then?  I have such little knowledge here.... thank you again for the response.

My early thought is a conversion . I am far from an expert on Mausers

Made in Germany, to be exported to Brazil. "Brazillian Contract"

Very definitely "sporterized".  Not a bad job, really.  Basically take a military rifle and make a sporting rifle out of it. Lots of hate for it these days, but back in the 50's and 60's there were literally millions of surplus rifles coming in to the US as armies converted over to FAL, G3, and M1/M14.  They would be in a barrel at the sporting goods store for $5-10 each.  Modifications ranged from pulling off the front handguards to taking it all the way down to the bold and receiver and building a beautiful custom gun.

Value? From $50 for a "bubba'd" gun where not even the receiver was done well, to thousands for custom pieces by big names. Yours?  Not in the thousands, but not in double digits either.  It doesn't seem to have a lot of sentimental value ("he got it in some trade").  Basically, a nice hunting rifle. someone *might* want to restore it - the parts look matching and pretty unmolested.

Around here it would sell for $350ish

Dumbasses around here all want synthetic stocks and magnum rounds though

Well historically, it does have the W.F. Sheard stamp which adds a lot of character in my opinion. I did a little research on him and he stamped the weapons he worked on in the early 1900's.  Mostly Winchesters it seems from searching the internet. He was a noted marksman, fur trader, gunsmith, inventor (Sheard sights), and just a real character of the time.  Perhaps he sporterized it? I looked up the butt pad also and it must have been done after the 50's. In any event the rifle has a long and interesting history.

You are right, for him it was just a rifle he got in a trade, but for me it does hold sentimental value - it was his and possibly something to hand down to my 11 year old son.

Thank you very much for the information.  I cant tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge. I've learned a lot already and have rekindled a firearms fire in my heart again.  Just bought a Sig Sauer Mk25 Navy Desert new.

Any idea where I can buy some ammunition for the Mauser?  I love the feel and would like to fire a few rounds.

Handing it down sounds like a great idea.

As for shooting it, it *should* be 8mm Mauser - 7.92x57Is or Js, because German script at the time wrote the "I" with a curlicue at the bottom. However, since it's been worked on, I would take it to a smith and get a chamber sasting done.  For all you know it could have been reamed to 8mm-06, or something else weird.  If it's 8mm Mauser, it's around - https://www.midwayusa.com/8x57mm-js-mauser-8mm-mauser-323-dia/br?cid=19209.  For that matter there may be a box on the shelves at your LGS - it's not an "obscure" cartridge by any means.

Remove the stock, it may be stamped under the barrel if it has been rechambered.

Thank you for the responses. I greatly appreciate it.

I hope you shoot and enjoy the gun

The chamber is marked 7.9 so it's most likely still in 8mm Mauser. However, have a competent gunsmith take a look at it.

Don't be so quick to chalk this one up as being a sporterized/Bubba'd Brazilian rifle.

It appears to be a factory DWM sporting Mauser, although there have clearly been some later alterations (like the crude checkering, the buttpad, and potentially the Lyman peep).  

See this other thread for a two similar pre-WW1 DWM hunting rifles in similar configuration, which were both built by DWM at the factory in the 1910s using leftover Brazilian Contract receivers:  https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=14&t=423560

The thing that adds even more weight to it being a factory sporting rifle is that the serial numbers and caliber marking on your father's rifle are not Brazilian M1908-style.  Instead, they're identical in style to the markings on the factory DWM sporting rifles.

Mauser produced identical style sporting rifles during the same period (known as the "Modell C"), although they have Mauser-Oberndorf markings on the receiver instead of DWM markings.

Wm.F.Sheard marriage record:

Name: William F. Sheard
Gender: Male
Age:28
Birth Date:1862 (actually 1861 in Ohio)
Marriage Date: 15 Oct 1890
Marriage Place: Crow Indian Agency, Custer, Montana
Father: William Sheard
Mother: Anna Heaton
Spouse: Lizzie Prescott Wyman

From his 1923 passport application:



death record:

Name: William Franklin Sheard
Birth Date:6 Oct 1861
Birth Place: Ohio, USA
Death Date: 24 Feb 1932
Death Place: Los Angeles County, California, USA
Cemetery:Tacoma Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington, USA
Has Bio?:N
Spouse: Elizabeth Prescott Morgan
Children:
Stanley Sheard
Louise Gould
Wyman Franklin Sheard

Awesome rifle in the days before optics were the norm.  I actually like vintage sporter rifles. Kind of like a hotrod made in the 50s vs one made today from a model A ford.  I would do as others said and get a chamber casting or see if they can figure it out by bore diam and chamber.  I have a 1950s converted mexican mauser my grandfather gave me.  His father was a machinist who built the tooling for B24s in WW2.  After the war he made a few rifles as a hobby.  Turns out he rechambered to 244.  Which is 6mm Remington today.  No markings anywhere on the barrel. It is totally possible he made the barrel also.